Comments on: ESPN, FISH DECLINE INTERVIEW ON STEELERS AND HGH STORY

By: brian_21

brian_21 — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:22:10 +0000

Da Oracle, any great blogger pretty much needs to provide links. It was a requirement to provide a minimum of one link per blog entry for the journalism class I took.
Also, you are right on one thing, Da Oracle. If Florio stopped providing links, there would most likely be much, much less traffic on PFT — the same for any blog.
So, why in the hell would he stop providing links? That would not even be an option. Probably over 90 percent of bloggers provide links, but most are not read at a high enough frequency to live off of. (Florio, not that you would, but is enough made from advertisements where you can live off of this blog and not be a lawyer?) So, give credit where credit is due.
Then, tear the person down (that would be Florio) like I did in my above post because Florio should have just made it an overall easier interview (it looks intimidating in an email form when the boatload of loaded and negative questions are thrown toward an individual) except for a few key, crucial points. Cause you got nuthin from that Fish/ESPN agreement to an interview!

By: SF Saints Fan

SF Saints Fan — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:14:57 +0000

Great questions Florio! Looks like a deposition outline. Been there done that.
You should have realized that ESPN would not allow Fish to go forward with the “interview” once they looked at your questions. There is a major drop off in intellectual capacity from lawyers to reporters in general and an even greater drop off down to the level of ESPN sports reporter.
I watch ESPN and enjoy their website and some of their shows, but it is an entertainment venue, not a news outlet. Their reporters are for the most part nothing more than commentators who sometimes ask a few people questions and “report” their answers.
ESPN lost a huge amount of credibility with me when the canceled Playmakers. They caved to the NFL and have been getting shafted by the league ever since.
Florio, one thing you can do is try to dig down into the story and get answers to some of your questions from the “sources” themselves or ask league or team officials what they think about the story on an off the record basis. If you put enough heat on ESPN they may come clean, but it will not happen until after the Super Bowl.
Have fun working (sic) in Tampa next week. It will be a whole lot warmer than West Virginia.

By: brian_21

brian_21 — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:27:12 +0000

Great questions.
As advice for an email interview next time, submit less questions, make the first few less difficult, less loaded, and less negative. Then at the end give a few that are vital to what you are trying to accomplish.
In any email interview, if there are a lot lot lot of questions, and it gives a major negative vibe to the person answering … you’ll pretty much get a response rate of zero percent. See, there was an actual agreement for you to get answers! You blew it not with the quality of the questions — they were very, very good.
You blew it by making close to 100 percent of them pretty negative toward Fish, and then a statement comes out.
Oh well.

By: vegasraider

vegasraider — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:41:32 +0000

What gets me about both the story and you is that it was about the use of HGH for patients who are not disallowed by the NFL to take it. Face it, it quickens healing time. Any Dr. who did not prescribe it would be negligent in his duties. In their efforts to prevent “cheating” the NFL deny their own injured players the best of care, and the Dr. is the bad guy?

By: sim448

sim448 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:18:10 +0000

i dont say this often…GOOD JOB FLORIO- SERIOUSLY, I DESPISE ESPN(PATS FAN), THANKS FOR MAKING ESPN SWEAT A LITTLE

By: shuxion

shuxion — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:10:15 +0000

I will quote Peter Griffin with one change.
“Awful lotta Steeler’s around here”

By: Manofsteel

Manofsteel — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:06:57 +0000

HGH = HITTIN” GUYS HARD

By: Vox Veritas

Vox Veritas — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:56:53 +0000

More hype.

By: bonecity7

bonecity7 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:51:14 +0000

Florio hates the Steelers!!!
Hope this helps!!!

By: manbearpig

manbearpig — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:31:56 +0000

Jesus there are some dumb comments on this thread (as usual).
Florio, I’ve been critical of you at times in the past but I applaud you for following this story and attempting to get ESPN to provide some answers for this story. Excellent list of questions.

By: wssteelfan

wssteelfan — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:23:48 +0000

dr. rydze sure answered ESPN’s questions like he had nothing to hide, Fish’s article even says its like no one cared what he said, possibly because nothing was wrong. ESPN sure makes it sound like they do have something to hide

By: Da Oracle

Da Oracle — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:08:20 +0000

Self righteousness rules in the Florio household. Florio has been shown to be ignorant in regards to a test being available, but that ego won’t allow him to admit he has ever been wrong about anything else.
Florio, people come to this website because you provide a great source of links to stories they want to read. You can self aggrandize yourself as much as you want, but if you don’t provide the links, nobody will read your opinions. If you really, really believe that the Steelers didn’t participate in organized use of HGH, let me tell you about a prime piece of real estate in the Okefenokee.

By: fmfnavydoc

fmfnavydoc — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:56:18 +0000

Mike,
Did you really thing that the “sports tabloid” was really going to answer your thoughtful, probing questions???
Neither did I….

By: arniecarni

arniecarni — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:59:47 +0000

Florio, you are such a homer. Poor squeelers could never have done anything illegal. LOL

By: CaptainFantastik

CaptainFantastik — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:58:52 +0000

Typical cowardice at E!SPiN.

By: eaglealan64

eaglealan64 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:49:16 +0000

I thought you realised this [continue reading] was annoying as crap and weren’t going to do it …..

By: clintdogg

clintdogg — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:49:04 +0000

there is a test for HGH.
right now, that test requires taking blood.
the NFLPA will not approve such a test.
currently the NFL is working in hopes to develop other possible tests (hair/urine/etc)

By: Steelers2Tampa

Steelers2Tampa — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:41:10 +0000

Stallone likes HGH. Did anyone see Rambo IV?

By: Hollywood Wags

Hollywood Wags — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:31:25 +0000

Anything for ESPN to feed the gaping maw.
Got to have product for those idiots like Parker and Korny to gossip about all day, and all night.

By: Pea Tear Griffin

Pea Tear Griffin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:29:58 +0000

awww….after all the posts Sunday and Monday, you really do care about the Steelers!

By: BBrophy1

BBrophy1 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:28:56 +0000

typical lawyer….what did you know and when did you know it! good job. You can feel validation in the fact they agreed to your interview question and then did the 180 after seeing the questions and knowing the answers could not be spun into a very favorable position

By: F00kFl0ri0

F00kFl0ri0 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:28:42 +0000

It’s funny that people want to subject Professional athletes to stuff that they aren’t subjected to. The only time besides getting insurance policies that the public are subjected to blood tests are during the suspicion of DUI/DWI. And those are when you refuse a breathalyzer. Hell the military only takes urine samples….

By: Mike Florio

Mike Florio — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:26:23 +0000

@fookflorio (i love that name) . . . .
the process usually begins by asking the subject of the story for an interview. just like fish did with dr. rydze. the difference? when rydze agreed to be interviewed by fish, he went through with it. espn initially agreed to let me interview fish, until they got my questions.
so unless folks with knowledge of the situation reach out to me under the cloak of anonymity, there’s not much more that i can do.

By: stugacz

stugacz — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:25:55 +0000

This story and others like it originating from ESPN provide the NFL Network with an opening to become the authority on reporting NFL news.
Wishful thinking:
If only the NFL Network could get more exposure on cable channels and nail the ESPN coffin shut!

By: RIRich

RIRich — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:23:01 +0000

The first joke is the assumption that ESPN even has a reputation to protect in the FIRST place!
Secondly, did Fish attend the John Tomase/Ron Borges School of Sports Journalism? Actually, has anyone ever seen John Tomase and Mike Fish in the same room together???
Nothing would make me happier than to see some light spread on this piece of crap organization that is the Pittsburgh Steelers, but I’d rather some credible organization be the ones shining that beacon of truth, not the joke of a network that is ESPN.

By: Frank Burns

Frank Burns — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:20:45 +0000

I wonder if all the sactimonious dweebs like Vox who drooled all over this tabloid hackjob will show quite the same “objectivity” in assessing the situation now?

By: jbruder02

jbruder02 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:19:11 +0000

The Steelers played the same music when Ben was on his back against the Cleveland Browns… that guy should be fired for playing music when a player is hurt.
Check it out Florio, it was the same exact music. Give it a rest.

By: plax18

plax18 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:18:49 +0000

florio did you hear that heinz field played music at the game while magahee was down!!!! i swear to god they really played actual music while he was hurt!!! you should write a story about it i promise you’ll be the only one to report it!!
oh and also you should write a story about the steelers cheating and hgh!! i promise you will be the only to report this one to!!
florio = joke

By: F00kFl0ri0

F00kFl0ri0 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:10:46 +0000

Why are you complaining about ESPN not letting you investigate them? Get off of your ass and do your own investigation!!! I don’t think Fish walked up to the good Dr., and said “Hey, can I investigate you? If you won’t answer these questions, I’m going to whine and cry.” You’re a big boy who likes to criticize, so get out of the little girl panties and do some big boy work.

By: Favre2012

Favre2012 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:08:05 +0000

How do you not understand that they don’t care about you?
It’s simple. You’re a blogger. ESPN doesn’t respect bloggers. If they did, they wouldn’t let Colin Cowherd recycle stories he finds on blogs and pretends to come up with on his own.